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[Foffy]

I have a rather obscure series of questions to be asking, so as you can imagine, it's for DQX.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me what's the deal with many parts of game being given Version numbers. Is this a reference to what expansion the game has? For example, does this mean 1+2+3 includes the base game and two expansions? Furthermore, there is an apparent fan translation of the offline campaign; is that affected by the release of new Versions on PC, or is that more or less untouched?

I may actually cave on getting DQX for PC if the offline campaign (this is apparently two parts? A tutorial and extended campaign?) is available in English this way, but I've wondered if updates to the game via Versions have broken this translation patch.

 

[Hasemo]

I have a rather obscure series of questions to be asking, so as you can imagine, it's for DQX.

I was wondering if someone can explain to me what's the deal with many parts of game being given Version numbers. Is this a reference to what expansion the game has? For example, does this mean 1+2+3 includes the base game and two expansions? Furthermore, there is an apparent fan translation of the offline campaign; is that affected by the release of new Versions on PC, or is that more or less untouched?

I may actually cave on getting DQX for PC if the offline campaign (this is apparently two parts? A tutorial and extended campaign?) is available in English this way, but I've wondered if updates to the game via Versions have broken this translation patch.

A community thread for DQX is out there, so you might find answers to your questions there.

As for the versions, 1 is the base game, 2 is the first expansion, and 3 is the second one. Versions 2.1 2.2 2.3 etc are big, free updates.

The offline campaign, at least the part accessible to free as a part of the trial, hasn't been updated since release, as far as I know. Because of that, it has some really annoying stuttering, which is gone the second you start the online part of the campaign. I have no idea if the further part of the offline campaign has this problem, since I never touched it again once I gained access to online.

Can't help you with the translation patches though.

 

[Hasemo]

I'm glad to report that I was able to finish the main story of DQIX yesterday!
Despite my relatively high levels (50), I guess I was really lucky with the last boss - he didn't heal himself even once and killed only 2 of my party members during the fight.
I bet the fight would've been easier if I used some of the advanced vocations, but I didn't feel like grinding.

This ends my 2+(?) year long quest to finish all the mainline Dragon Quest games for the first time. I'm very happy that I decided to give the series a serious chance, because I ended up enjoying it very much. Just in time for DQXI, too!

I think the fact that I went through VII, VIII, and IX back to back in a span of the month shows just how much I liked these games, ha ha.

My favorite entry by far is V, followed by VIII.
As for the least favorite, it's definitely the VI, VII, IX.
VI felt too focused on battles, VII was all about vignettes (which was okay) with a ton of backtracking (not okay).
IX got a bit more interesting in the later part of the game, but the difficulty, or rather randomness, of some class/weapon quests was really off putting. That, and custom party members being completely unimportant to the story kind of killed it for me.

That said, even lows in the DQ series are much better than lows in other long running JRPG franchises like Tales of or FF.

While I finished the main story of the base version DQX, I'll probably jump back to do ver 1 side stories and start working on the expansions.

I have a question regarding the Dragon Quest Monsters Joker series. I was thinking about giving it a shot and from what I understand, these games usually so similar, that it's the best to just grab the latest one and not try to clear them all.

Right now that would be Joker 3 Professional. Is that one worth it or should I check out another game in the series instead? I haven't seen many impressions of J3P, so I'm a bit worried.

 

[Magicpaint]

The completionist made a top 10 Dragon Quest games list. I really didn't expect to see IV so low and 1 so high.

No DQVI, and IX so high makes this list trash tier for me. There's never a list that works for me though since my favourites are VI & VII

 

[The n00b Avenger]

As much as I don't like 9, The fact that the 2nd worst Monsters game made the list over every other Monsters game is the bigger kicker.

(Also the first Heroes going on the list at all but hey, people like different genres so whatever)

 

[Hasemo]

As much as I don't like 9, The fact that the 2nd worst Monsters game made the list over every other Monsters game is the bigger kicker.

(Also the first Heroes going on the list at all but hey, people like different genres so whatever)

I'm curious, how would you rank Monsters games? Haven't played any of them.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

I would probably go something like

DQM 2 3DS > DQM 2 GBC/PS1 > DQM1 GBC/PS1 > DQM Joker 2 Pro > DQM 1 3DS > DQM Joker 1 = DQM Joker 3 > DQM Caravan Hearts

(never played DQM Joker 2 the non-pro version and didn't bother with Joker 3 Pro)

 

[Megalosaro]

IX is a great game

 

[Hasemo]

I would probably go something like

DQM 2 3DS > DQM 2 GBC/PS1 > DQM1 GBC/PS1 > DQM Joker 2 Pro > DQM 1 3DS > DQM Joker 1 = DQM Joker 3 > DQM Caravan Hearts

(never played DQM Joker 2 the non-pro version and didn't bother with Joker 3 Pro)

Was Joker 3 that bad? Like I mentioned before, I was thinking about giving the Monsters series a shot and though that since I never touched it before, going with the newest one (J3P) would be the best way to do it. Now I'm not so sure anymore.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

I hear Pro fixes a lot of issues of the original so I would be betting that it probably brings it up to Joker 2 tier at least. It's just that I didn't really enjoy the original enough to play it twice even with improvements.

The main problem for me is the obviously rushed end-game and the historically poor selection of monsters(unless you're a huge DQ10 fan since a good 35% of all the monsters are all from that game. Even then it has what I'm pretty sure is the highest ratio of palette swaps in any game of the series). I'm not sure if the end-game is improved in Pro but it probably is, and depending on how much monster selection matters to you, it could easily be an adequate entry. Mechanically speaking there's nothing wrong with it and it even contains some improvements I really liked(like getting rid of sexes). But the fact that almost every monster I generally liked to use was gone really hurt my enjoyment.

Part of its low rank for me also comes from the fact that it followed DQM2 3DS which I actually considered the apex of the series so the disappointment was amplified.

 

[Hasemo]

I hear Pro fixes a lot of issues of the original so I would be betting that it probably brings it up to Joker 2 tier at least. It's just that I didn't really enjoy the original enough to play it twice even with improvements.

The main problem for me is the obviously rushed end-game and the historically poor selection of monsters(unless you're a huge DQ10 fan since a good 35% of all the monsters are all from that game. Even then it has what I'm pretty sure is the highest ratio of palette swaps in any game of the series). I'm not sure if the end-game is improved in Pro but it probably is, and depending on how much monster selection matters to you, it could easily be an adequate entry. Mechanically speaking there's nothing wrong with it and it even contains some improvements I really liked(like getting rid of sexes). But the fact that almost every monster I generally liked to use was gone really hurt my enjoyment.

Part of its low rank for me also comes from the fact that it followed DQM2 3DS which I actually considered the apex of the series so the disappointment was amplified.

Since most of my favorite DQ monsters are probably famous enough to be left out, I think I'll be okay with the selection.
If the system has improvements over the previous entries in the series, I think I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Magicpaint]

One key thing to note is that DQM1, 2 and Caravan Heart have randomized dungeons. The Joker games do not have those but instead have static dungeons. Also in Caravan Heart you can have humans (with a class system) in the party.

With the Monsters games, of all the ones I've played, I've enjoyed them a lot. I think any one is good enough to start with, Caravan Heart is quite different from the others though, especially with its hearts system which is a replacement for breeding.

The 3DS remakes are nice in that they sort of combine the strengths of the classic series with the Joker ones.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

The only random dungeons in 2(and CH) are the optional random key ones that you can also customize for yourself in the 3DS version(Joker 3 has this too). And in the 3DS version it's not really random so much as just selecting a random story area to make the backdrop.

The actual story stuff isn't random in case that bothers you. In 1 it was all just random stuff which I honestly thought was a flaw(a flaw that was made worse with the 3DS version)

 

[The Real Abed]

In DQ8, what determines who goes first (Party wise) in a battle? Because it seems to be random to me. It's never the same order. Is it random? Can it be controlled?

 

[KtSlime]

In DQ8, what determines who goes first (Party wise) in a battle? Because it seems to be random to me. It's never the same order. Is it random? Can it be controlled?

I believe it is based on agility, however there is some formula involved and add's a bit of randomness too it.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

Your agility is randomized to a a value between 50% and 100% of your agility. DQ has been using something similar to that since DQ6

 

[The Real Abed]

So there's no way to predict or manipulate the order? Would be nice if my Timbrel of Tension holder could reliably go first every time.

 

[KtSlime]

So there's no way to predict or manipulate the order? Would be nice if my Timbrel of Tension holder could reliably go first every time.

Use lots of agility seeds on the party member you would like to go more often than not first.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

It won't be a guarantee but giving a Meteorite Bracelet to one of the faster characters(and none to the others) will result in like a decent 90+% chance of them going first(though as your level gets higher the +50 isn't worth as much. This isn't an issue in the PS2 version since you can complete everything below level 50 but the 3DS version has you getting to like level 70 for the last stretch of post-game stuff and by that point it's not quite as effective)

Agility seeds will help of course.

If you're trying to get a slow character like Yangus to go first often though, that's probably not going to happen(at least not without tons of seeds)

If you're playing the 3DS version then Red has agility boosting equipment on top of her already fast speed which basically guarantees she goes first. This also means that if you don't want Red to go first, then you're probably going to have to keep her out of her party because she's going to go first a lot.

 

[1upsuper]

I would probably go something like

DQM 2 3DS > DQM 2 GBC/PS1 > DQM1 GBC/PS1 > DQM Joker 2 Pro > DQM 1 3DS > DQM Joker 1 = DQM Joker 3 > DQM Caravan Hearts

(never played DQM Joker 2 the non-pro version and didn't bother with Joker 3 Pro)

Mine is pretty close to this but I would make the 3DS remake of 2 on par with the GB/C versions and I would bump Caravan Heart above every Joker. I've got Joker 2 Pro but I never played it (I played through Vanilla. I'll do Pro someday) and Joker 3 was SUCH a disappointment after DQM2 3DS that I just couldn't keep playing it when it came out. I'll get Pro soon and hopefully that's a lot better.

DQ Monsters is my favorite game series of all time, BTW.

 

[Gloam]

This is a recent and interesting interview with Yuji Horii by students from Waseda University. Horii is a former student of the university.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Squeenix is acting odd about DQ XI Switch edition.

I wonder what the conflict of interest between the 3ds and Switch is for them?

 

[Laws00]

Can someone tell me why Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation for the DS cost so damn much? I can find a loose cart for cheap but for a complete version it's almost double to triple the cost for some reason.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

It didn't get reprinted like the other 2 so it's technically considered rare

 

[Chairhome]

So, after 16 years, I finally beat DQ VII.
I remember getting the PSX game when it came out, but the pacing was terrible and I stopped playing eventually. Later I would try to pick it up by playing on an emulator, but that still didn't grab me. Years later, I picked up the 3DS version and was excited to jump in. The excitement eventually wore off because it just simply felt too repetitive.

A month ago I decided to finally push through and beat it, and after getting to the final boss a few nights ago, I died. then i tried again and died again. So I grinded a few levels and mastered some more jobs.

Boss was a piece of cake this time and I am finally on my "victory tour"! I don't plan to do any post game stuff, will I be missing much? I usually skip out on those.

And with that, I've completed all of the mainline DQs (minus the MMO). I am semi certain I beat DQII but not positive. I am very happy to say that this series still holds a special place, though I do think that VII felt way too long (end time is about 65 hours, felt longer though).

 

[Lightning Lord]

So, playing DQVIII right now and one of my most prevalent thoughts on the story is how the

Spoiler

heirs to the sages don't seem to care that much about actually preserving their bloodlines. At least Alistair and David have the excuse for being young (or simply not knowing in David's defense), but over half of them are old guys with no kids, or Golding who simply adopted and seems to straight up ignore his ancestor's warning. At least Marta had a kid.

 

[Rodion]

I just beat Dragon Quest IX and in the end it says

Spoiler

To be Continued, is there more things to do, story related, in the game?

Also, is it never specified what actually happened to the

Spoiler

Almighty?

 

[Big Nikus]

Dragon Quest IX crashes randomly when I play on my 3DS XL... is it a common problem ? I can still play on my DS Lite but I've come to hate it for this game. I much prefer the analog stick of the 3DS to control the character.

 

[Hasemo]

Dragon Quest IX crashes randomly when I play on my 3DS XL... is it a common problem ? I can still play on my DS Lite but I've come to hate it for this game. I much prefer the analog stick of the 3DS to control the character.

I'm not sure about common, but I finished it very recently on my 3DS XL and during the 30+ hours I don't think it crashed even once.

 

[Aeana]

Only time I've ever had a DS game crash is when the contacts needed to be cleaned.

 

[Big Nikus]

Well I have never experienced any crash with any other game on my 3DS (3DS or DS games), and I've played other games on it recently. It doesn't crash on my Lite, so I don't know... Bah, I'll power through on my Lite, I must be around the middle of the game I think, just arrived to Gleeba.

I'm playing the first DQ on mobile on the side, and I love it.
I've also just started to read the Emblem of Roto manga. Dai no Daiboken is my favorite manga ever, I read it long before I played my first DQ game. I hope Roto is good too !

 

[Big Nikus]

Dragonlord defeated !
I love Dragon Quest but I didn't expect to enjoy the first episode so much. Well, QuickSave surely helps a ton. On to DQII !
Debating with myself if I should play III on mobile or SNES with a fantranslation after that. The mobile remakes are really great (and there's an orchestral score), but I'd love to play a long RPG on the SNES again.

 

[Autumn Wind]

Not sure who you folks normally use for importing but checking their pre-order section, NCSX does not have Dragon Quest XI for 3DS alone only selling the Liquid Metal Slime bundle. Play-Asia on the other hand has the 3DS game loose and the guidebooks available for pre-order. Can't wait for the end of July!

 

[JLateralus]

A friend of mine ordered and is translating the DQ novelizations. He's about halfway through the book of the first game, which you can find in progress here:

http://dqnovels.blogspot.com/

Thought someone might find it interesting.

 

[Contact]

Hello everyone. I've just beaten DQVIII on the 3DS, it was a really good game. Had to grind two or three times but it was nothing major. i thought the main quest woul last for 80 hours+ but it took me ~40 hors to beat. Guess that the double speed battles made things go a lot quicker. Now I need something to fill the DQ void until XI is released in the west. How is DQVII on the 3DS? Is there a need for grinding and are the battles as fast as VIII?

 

[JLateralus]

Hello everyone. I've just beaten DQVIII on the 3DS, it was a really good game. Had to grind two or three times but it was nothing major. i thought the main quest woul last for 80 hours+ but it took me ~40 hors to beat. Guess that the double speed battles made things go a lot quicker. Now I need something to fill the DQ void until XI is released in the west. How is DQVII on the 3DS? Is there a need for grinding and are the battles as fast as VIII?

I'd say that with the exception of DQX (and maybe IX to a lesser extent), you don't really NEED to grind in any DQ games if you plan out skills/classes/etc in a way that maximizes your abilities.

VII on 3DS is good (and long). By nature it's a slower paced game and it actually discourages heavy grinding, as the vocation system won't level up your vocation if you are leveled too high for the area you're in. VIII is the only mainline DQ game I haven't played, so I can't compare the battle system, but VII on 3DS never felt too slow for me in that regard. I do have some problems with it, but VII is in my top 3 DQ games.

 

[Contact]

I'd say that with the exception of DQX (and maybe IX to a lesser extent), you don't really NEED to grind in any DQ games if you plan out skills/classes/etc in a way that maximizes your abilities.

VII on 3DS is good (and long). By nature it's a slower paced game and it actually discourages heavy grinding, as the vocation system won't level up your vocation if you are leveled too high for the area you're in. VIII is the only mainline DQ game I haven't played, so I can't compare the battle system, but VII on 3DS never felt too slow for me in that regard. I do have some problems with it, but VII is in my top 3 DQ games.

Thanks, I'm gonna play it next then. Do I need a guide for the job system or would I be fine playing it blindly?
I recommend you to play DQVIII sometime btw, it encapsulates most of the good things about RPGs in an amazing package.

 

[Hasemo]

I haven't been following DQXI closely enough - do we know if it's going to have post release DLC support like DQIX etc.?

 

[Jucksalbe]

I don't think they have mentioned anything yet.

 

[JLateralus]

Thanks, I'm gonna play it next then. Do I need a guide for the job system or would I be fine playing it blindly?
I recommend you to play DQVIII sometime btw, it encapsulates most of the good things about RPGs in an amazing package.

Yeah, I own VIII, but just haven't been able to get to it yet.

IMO the in-game tutorial to the job system is pretty sparse so you might want to at least look at some more info about it. If you've played VI, the job system is very similar.

 

[Megalosaro]

Hello everyone. I've just beaten DQVIII on the 3DS, it was a really good game. Had to grind two or three times but it was nothing major. i thought the main quest woul last for 80 hours+ but it took me ~40 hors to beat. Guess that the double speed battles made things go a lot quicker. Now I need something to fill the DQ void until XI is released in the west. How is DQVII on the 3DS? Is there a need for grinding and are the battles as fast as VIII?

DQVIII has one of the slowest battle systems in the series. DQVIII is much faster and MUCH better. Great game

 

[Aeana]

DQVIII has one of the slowest battle systems in the series. DQVIII is much faster and MUCH better. Great game

The person you quoted said they played DQ8 on 3DS, which can be very speedy.
That said, DQ7 3DS is very fast too on the fastest speed.

 

[Contact]

I started playing DQ7 and man, that music sounds amazing. It seems to have a higher quality than DQVIII. Btw, I have a question about Regenstein.

Spoiler

How is Felix still a boy and alive after being 15 years inside his secret base? Did I miss something, because I can't find the answer to this anywhere.

 

[clay_ghost]

I started playing DQ7 and man, that music sounds amazing. It seems to have a higher quality than DQVIII. Btw, I have a question about Regenstein.

Spoiler

How is Felix still a boy and alive after being 15 years inside his secret base? Did I miss something, because I can't find the answer to this anywhere.

Spoiler

time stopped for him.

 

[1upsuper]

I've been waffling on whether to import one or both versions of XI or wait for a localization. I think I'll get the 3DS version now and then PS4 when it's (hopefully) localized. I think at this point at least two thirds of my DQ collection is comprised of imports. Maybe I'll post my collection sometime.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

DQVIII has one of the slowest battle systems in the series. DQVIII is much faster and MUCH better. Great game

Roman numerals are hard?

I started playing DQ7 and man, that music sounds amazing. It seems to have a higher quality than DQVIII. Btw, I have a question about Regenstein.

Spoiler

How is Felix still a boy and alive after being 15 years inside his secret base? Did I miss something, because I can't find the answer to this anywhere.

Spoiler

He was affected by the gray rain, and trapped as a statue like everyone else, but he was underground and was not affected by 15 years of wind/rain erosion. If that hadn't been a factor everyone else would have come back as well. Unfortunately everyone but the kid ran outside cause they were so excited about rain.

 

[Velcro Fly]

I beat DQ3 on my phone just now and in the final cutscene I must have touched my phone screen and it closed the game.

Guess I get to fight that final boss again if I want to see the end

Yeah I guess it is just buggy because it did it again

What a load of bullshit

Randomly started the game up just now and killed the final boss again and no crashes! Most satisfying ending ever.

 

[Contact]

Roman numerals are hard?

Spoiler

He was affected by the gray rain, and trapped as a statue like everyone else, but he was underground and was not affected by 15 years of wind/rain erosion. If that hadn't been a factor everyone else would have come back as well. Unfortunately everyone but the kid ran outside cause they were so excited about rain.

Oh, now that makes sense.

Spoiler

Well, the holy water shouldn't have hit him if he was underground though, but whatever. I'm at the automata island and I'm a mercenary now. Everytime I hear about automata I remember about Nier.

 

[Laws00]

Going to try out the Dragon quest heroes 2 demo on ps4. Anybody know if redbox puts a title like that out? Surpised they didn't put something like overwatch out. maybe it might have a high theft rate lol

Need to get Joker 2 now

 

[Megalosaro]

Going to try out the Dragon quest heroes 2 demo on ps4. Anybody know if redbox puts a title like that out? Surpised they didn't put something like overwatch out. maybe it might have a high theft rate lol

Need to get Joker 2 now

Welcome to the team